1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to protective covering and restraining devices for user equipment which are suspended by a neckstrap positionable about the neck, and specifically relates to a protective covering structured to allow the user equipment, such as binoculars or a camera, to be restrained against the user until ready for use.
2. Background of the Invention
There are many different types of protective and restraining devices designed for use with neckstrap- or harness-suspended equipment. Some prior art devices serve to hold the user equipment in place against the user's body, while others have been developed to solely protect the user equipment from being damaged by exposure to the elements (i.e., sun and rain). Prior art devices have been developed to serve both the purposes of restraining and protecting the user equipment. Such devices are often complicated and expensive, however.
Harness type devices keep user equipment weight off the user's neck by applying at least some equipment weight to both shoulders of the user, but are very inconvenient to use when the user changes, for example, from wearing heavy outer clothing to lighter clothing, or vise versa. Harness devices also tend to be expensive and complicated to use. Devices for use with neckstrap-suspended equipment are easy and comfortable to use when the user is wearing heavy outer clothing, but when the user wears lighter clothing the weight applied to the user's neck is uncomfortable.
The Quick Release™, a harness-type mechanism marketed by Sunrise Creations, is an example of a complicated device which only provides restraint to the user equipment, not protection. The device comprises straps which engage the user device and extend over the shoulders and a strap which goes around the chest. A third strap secures the shoulder straps to the chest strap. The chest strap is constructed with hook and loop tabs which hold the user equipment firmly in place against the user's body. This requires extra attachments to the user equipment and makes it much more cumbersome and inconvenient to use when the user needs to remove or add outer clothing.
U.S. Pat. RE37,155E discloses a device similar to the present invention for securing the user equipment in place against the user's body and protecting the equipment while secured in place. That invention, however, cannot remove all weight from the user's neck like the present invention. The patent discloses a protective covering for the user equipment which is strapped about the user's abdomen. The protective covering holds neckstrap-suspended user equipment against the user's body preventing it from moving about or swinging away from the body. It does, however, allow the neckstrap of the user equipment to hang loose, leaving open the possibility that the neckstrap could slide off of the neck of the user. More importantly, the body-encircling strap which holds the protective cover in place against the user's abdomen may slip down the body causing some degree of inconvenience to the user.
Therefore, it would be advantageous in the art to provide a device which can be used to allow user equipment to hang from a neckstrap in a secure, protected manner and that can keep equipment weight off the user's neck without the use of a separate harness in a simple, secure, protected manner. It would also be advantageous to provide a device which can be easily and quickly changed from an around-the-neck, harness-type orientation to an over-the-shoulder arrangement in which the equipment is secured to the user's body proximate the user's hip. Moreover, it would be advantageous to provide a device which is structured to facilitate easy removal of the device away from the user's body and easy placement against the user's body.